Tiger Woods was in breathtaking form as he stormed to the top of the Bay Hill leaderboard.

Story highlights

Tiger Woods holds a share of the lead after a superb second round at Bay Hill

The former world number one cards a seven-under-par 65 for a 10-under 134 total

Woods is bidding to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the seventh title in career

Graeme McDowell posted a best-of-the-day 63 to lie just one stroke off the pace

CNN  — 

Former world number one Tiger Woods rolled back the years in brilliant style to take a share of the lead after the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational event at Bay Hill, Florida.

On a course where he has savored victory a remarkable six times, Woods ended any lingering doubts about his fitness with a flawless seven-under-par round of 65, to lie on a 10-under-par total of 134 after 36 holes.

An Achilles tendon injury forced Woods to pull out of his final round in the Cadillac tournament at Doral two weeks ago, putting his participation in next month’s Masters in doubt.

Current Bay Hill leaderboard

But the 14-time major winner displayed no signs of discomfort at all, carding seven birdies, including a 15-foot putt on the par-three 17th that briefly put him one shot ahead of his rivals.

It was Woods’ lowest 36-hole total since the 2009 Buick Open and he looks well placed to claim his first victory since the Australian Masters in November 2009.

And, in an ominous statistic for his rivals, Woods has won 33 times in the 41 events that he has led, or shared the lead, after two rounds.

The American is joined atop the leaderboard by joint first round leader Charlie Wi, who followed his opening 66 with a steady four-under-par 68.

Woods’ round took some of the headlines away from Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell, who produced a stunning nine-under-par 63 to tie for third place with the other joint overnight leader, Jason Dufner.

The 2010 U.S. Open champion, who posted seven birdies and an eagle in his best-of-the-day round, told reporters: “It was a beautiful morning for scoring – the greens were more receptive than Thursday afternoon.”

Meanwhile, Welshman Phillip Price leads by one shot after two rounds of the Hassan Trophy in Morocco on a day when strong winds caused a five-hour delay.

The 45-year-old carded a six-under-par 66 to just edge Spain’s Jose Manuel Lara (65), with Sweden’s Joel Sjoholm (66) another further stroke behind.